


Quality Time

by Rangergirl3



Series: Lost Paladins [8]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fun, Galra Keith (Voltron), Gen, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-04
Updated: 2016-11-04
Packaged: 2018-08-29 01:58:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8471167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rangergirl3/pseuds/Rangergirl3
Summary: The team spends some quality time together. Keith and Shiro talk about the Council and Keith's heritage, and Keith teases Shiro about liking Allura.





	1. Waking Up

Coran tapped the monitor that regulated the healing pod's occupant's condition. He leaned forward, closely examining the readings.

"He seems to be doing well," he said. "But I have to admit - I think he'll need some more time to recuperate after he wakes up."

"What, like bed rest?" Lance asked. He was leaning over Coran's shoulder, and Hunk knew the word that best described that motion was 'hovering'.

"What is 'bed rest?'" Coran asked, looking over at Lance. The Altean councilor jumped when he realized how close Lance's face was, and they ended up knocking heads. Lance rubbed his forehead and seemed about to glare at Coran, but he saw Pidge's expression that said 'Dude, really?' and he bit back a retort.

" _Ow_ ," was all he settled for. Coran just shook his head to clear it and then looked back at the Blue Paladin, his face still questioning.

"Oh - right - " Lance said, about to answer Coran's question, but Pidge cut him off.

""Bed rest" just means you have to stay lying down as much as possible - read books, watch TV, that kind of thing," she said, adjusting her glasses.

"Ah," Coran said, nodding. "Yes, that sounds about right. Just a day or two without too much activity should do the trick. I'm sure he'll be all right, but we need to make sure he's completely recovered before he rejoins you on the training deck, or on missions."

From where he leaned against one of the nearby pods, arms folded over his chest, Shiro let out a breath. "Oh, he is  _not_  going to like that," he said. "Keith  _hates_  to be confined to quarters."

"Why?" Hunk asked, looking over at Shiro. The Black Paladin shrugged.

"He just likes to be out doing things - training, exploring, stuff like that," he said. "Or at least he did when we were at Garrison together. He had the flu once, during finals time, and it was practically impossible to get him to the nurse."

Shiro snorted in laughter then. "He insisted he was fine right up until he was running a 103 degree fever and almost fell off the stairs on the way to class. Typical behavior for him, really. He just powers through whatever it is until he either accomplishes his goal or falls over. Even then, he hates spending time in his room."

"Wow," Pidge said. "I practically live in my room. Or I would, if I could."

"Tech geniuses," Lance grumbled. Then his face brightened. "Hey! That's it!"

"What's - it?" Pidge inquired, looking over at him. "Lance, you always do this - you have to  _explain_  what's going on in your mind. We can't read it like Professor X can."

" _Blue_  can read my mind," Lance said, but his tone was joking. Pidge rolled her eyes as he continued. "Pidge, is there any way for us to get movies - or books - from Earth?"

There was a second's absolute silence in the room before Pidge responded. "You're asking me if I can somehow access Earth entertainment from - literal - lightyears away?"

Lance nodded, looking both thoughtful and excited. "I mean, it's not like we had all our stuff with us when we left, right? But maybe -"

Shiro shook his head. "Lance, that's a good  _idea_  - " he said, his tone was more resigned than encouraging, "-but we shouldn't ask Pidge to accomplish the impossible."

Lance seemed a little disappointed at that, and Hunk shrugged, but Pidge grinned.

"Says  _you_ ," she said, her eyes gleaming with sudden triumph. "For your information, my equipment contains digital copies of everything from TV shows to books to movies to audio files. I've literally got years worth of all things awesome in my storage drive."

It wasn't often the Black Paladin was taken by surprise, but this was one of those rare occasions.

Pidge grinned at his stunned expression before her face altered. "I mean, I can't hack into Earth's satellites or anything from here," she said. "Don't misunderstand me - if I could, I absolutely would have told you all before now. Really, I would have."

Her eyes flicked from one face to another, as if trying to read their expressions. "It's just - it's just I got used to taking all my things with me whenever I went up to the observation deck - just in case I got caught and had to leave without getting the stuff from my room. And - well - " her eyes fell to the floor. "The movies, the books - it's all the stuff Matt and I used to share," she said in a low voice. "It - it made him feel…closer, somehow."

Lance swallowed, unsure of what to say. He was really,  _really_  glad Katie had brought entertainment from Earth with her - but he just didn't know what to say to her more personal revelation - that in some heartbreaking, nerdy, digital way, she had been bringing her family with her whenever she searched for her brother and father.

Hunk patted her shoulder. "I understand," he said. "I think we all do."

Lance nodded vigorously then. He looked over at Shiro and realized his friend had gone slightly pale.

* * *

 _Author's note: One of the shorter stories I wrote earlier in this series has Shiro and Matt referencing 'Firefly' and 'Serenity' together while they were held captives by the Druids._ _T_ _he title of that fic is "You Can't Take the Sky From Me." I imply here that Shiro is reminded of that event by Pidge's words._ _Shiro's reaction here will make a bit more sense if you've read that other fic._

* * *

"Hey, Shiro - you okay?" Lance asked. He kept his voice low, so the other two Paladins wouldn't hear.

Shiro's eyes suddenly re-focused, and he nodded once, briskly. "Yeah, fine," he said. He took in a deep breath then, the color returning to his face, and then he turned his attention back to the room at large.

"So - Katie - what did you bring?" he asked. Genuine interest showed in his voice, and Lance could see that Shiro was making an effort to push - whatever it the memory had been - out of his mind.

So Lance let the matter be. For now.

Pidge was beginning to list the various shows and entertainment she'd brought with her. When Hunk saw that Coran looked a little bit lost, he suddenly had an idea.

"Wait - what about a movie marathon?!" he said. "Or at least an afternoon - wouldn't that be awesome?!"

Lance pumped a fist in excitement and agreement. "Heck yeah! We can all be nerds together!"

"Filing  _that_  under 'sentences I never thought you'd say with a smile on your face'," Pidge muttered under her breath, but she herself was smiling as she said it. Something about their excitement to share in something she and Matt had enjoyed…it was heartwarming.

 _Space Nerds Unite_ , she thought.  _Hey, maybe I could make a banner._

Coran tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Well, we do have some time to spare. And given that you trained all day yesterday, some down time together might be just the thing!"

Shiro smiled then, and although it was a genuine expression, Hunk could see see an element of tightness around his eyes. Obviously whatever memory had surfaced earlier had deeply shaken him. Hunk made a mental note to see if Shiro wanted to talk about it later.

"Okay," Shiro said. "Let's plan on it. But since Keith will be the one who'll be stuck in bed for the next few days, we'll give him first choice. Sound fair?"

"As long as it isn't 'Twilight'," Pidge muttered.

At Lance's horrified expression and half-stammered "Oh, God,  **no**  - you didn't bring  _that_ , did you?!", she let out a sound that was half-shriek of outrage and half-bellow of laughter.

"OH MY GOD!" she said, throwing her hands up into the air. "Did you  _really_  think  **I**  brought - LANCE, YOU ARE  **DEAD**  TO ME!"

Hunk laughed so hard at Lance's sputtered responses he had to hold his sides and lean against the wall.

"What?!" Lance shouted over his friend's hysterical howls of laughter. "I didn't - Pidge - come  _on_  - Hunk, stop laughing! Shiro, help me!"

Shiro spread his hands wide in a 'sorry, I got nothing' gesture, a genuine smile crossing his face. "You walked right into that one, Lance," Shiro said. The tightness around his eyes had vanished - just like Lance had hoped - though Lance hadn't meant to make Hunk almost convulse from hysterical laughter.

Seeing Coran's completely uncomprehending face, Hunk took pity on the confused councilor and, once he got enough breath back, explained the basic premise to him. Coran didn't really seem to get it, but he shrugged and smiled.

"Well, at least Number 5 has some entertaining media for us to enjoy," he said. "I think Allura and I will take it in turns to watch the bridge - in case the Council ' _deigns'" -_ here he made quotation marks around the word, his voice slightly sarcastic  _-_ "to reply by our deadline."

Shiro nodded. "I'll help, if you li-"

Coran shook his head. "No no, I think it would be good for the team to bond like this again. It's been too long since all of you were able to relax together. A few movies sound like just the thing."

Lance shifted his weight again, almost nervously, impatient for Keith to wake up and be back to his usual grumpy self so everything could be normal again.

"Right," he said. "Okay, so - how long until Keith wakes up  _now_?"

Coran checked the readings again. "Just a few more ticks," he said.

Just then, Allura entered the room. She had let her long white hair down. The mice were on her shoulders, cheeping together in what seemed to be pleasant conversation.

"Hello, everyone," she said. "Coran, is it almost time?"

"Yes, Princess," he answered. Allura nodded and turned to face the other Paladins.

"I know we're all very concerned about Keith," she said, "but I don't know if we should all - Shiro, what was the word you used earlier?"

" 'Mob'," Shiro said. "I think we shouldn't all crowd around him right when he wakes up."

He smiled over at them all to take any sting out of the words. "Not that the gesture isn't a sweet one - I just think it would be a little overwhelming for him, that's all."

The other three Paladins nodded, and Lance took a few steps back from the pod. "Hey, Shiro," he said, "you've known him the longest - why don't you be the one to - "

"Yeah!" Hunk exclaimed. "I'm sure he'd like that!"

Pidge nodded. "We'll all be over here, just off to the side. He can see us from there."

Shiro glanced over at Coran and Allura, who nodded in agreement.

"Okay," he said, and he came to stand directly in front of the pod, just as the glowing lights that formed its domed top shimmered away.

* * *

Keith's eyes suddenly shot open, and he stumbled forwards, looking around in a confused and disoriented manner.

Shiro had seen Keith wake up from nightmares before, while they were roommates at the Garrison. He reached out and grabbed hold of Keith's shoulders, steadying him.

"Whoa, buddy, calm down," Shiro said, making sure to keep his voice even and steady. "It's okay. We're all here. You're all right."

Keith looked up into his face and blinked. Sudden comprehension filled his face.

"Shiro?" he asked, and his voice was confused. "What the - weren't we…on the planet…?"

"Yeah," Shiro said. "We were. But Red took us all back to the Castle. You've been asleep for a little while."

Keith looked around, saw the others. Hunk waved, Pidge shot him a thumbs up, and Lance flapped his arms in what must have been meant as an enthusiastic greeting. Coran was smiling broadly at him in a 'Welcome back!' sort of manner. Allura stepped forward, leaning down a little to look into Keith's face.

"Keith, what  _is_  the last thing you remember?" she asked. She made sure she kept her voice friendly, and just a tiny bit curious. She wanted to help Keith sort out where and when he was - not to make Keith feel like he was being interrogated.

Keith shook his head slowly, frowning slightly, trying to sort out the last few flashes of consciousness he'd had.

"Uh…you almost got hit by a cross-bow bolt," he said. "And Red was pissed as  _hell_. That's pretty much the last thing I can remember clearly. But I'm assuming - I mean, it looks like - we made it out just fine…"

He felt Shiro's hands tighten on his shoulders for a second, and looked up to see his friend's face flicker through a range of emotions. Relief, remembered terror, and finally, relief again.

"Yeah, that's what happened," Shiro said. He half-grinned at Keith then, and it was shaky, but genuine. "But I'm pretty sure you quoted 'Serenity' right before you passed out for the last time."

Keith furrowed his brow, thinking. Then his face cleared, and he nodded. "Oh yeah - I think I did."

Shiro let out a breath then. "Okay. Good." He took a hand off of Keith's shoulder and patted him on the arm. "So you  _do_  remember giving me white hair," he said, humor showing in his voice.

Keith snorted, a small sound, but a joking one. "Yeah," he said. "Like you don't have enough of that already."

Allura seemed slightly confused, but also happy at Keith's - now much more relaxed - state of mind.

"Well, we are all very glad to have you awake once more," she said, clapping her hands together briskly. "Keith, I know you must be very hungry - I saved you some chocolate chip cookies from yesterday morning."

Keith's eyebrows shot right up into his hair in surprise. "Wait - huh?" he asked, but Shiro was already guiding him to a nearby table, and Pidge was pushing a chair out so he could sit down, and Hunk was shoving a huge plate of - wow, they actually  _were_  chocolate chip cookies - towards him. Lance was sitting on the edge of another chair, grinning over at Keith. He seemed to be in a ridiculously good mood.

"Glad to see you're now fully awake,  _rival_ ," he said, but there was no real edge to his tone. It was more of a teasing jab, and Keith felt a half-smirk cross his face as he sat down.

"Awake enough to eat all these cookies in front of you, at least," he said, and Lance grinned then.

"Ah-ha, but I already  _had_  mine!" he said triumphantly. "So I  _win_. Ahahaa!"

Keith just rolled his eyes and began inhaling the cookies. " _Wow_ ," he managed after finishing four in just two gigantic bites, table manners be damned. "These are  _really_  good - who made them?"

Allura beamed. "I did." She looked over at Shiro, blushed for some reason, and looked away again. "Well - actually - I couldn't have done it without help. I used Hunk's recipe, and Shiro helped me not to burn the kitchen down."

Everyone else laughed at that, and Keith figured there had to be some story behind that. He finished the cookies in record time and chugged down the mug of space juice Coran handed to him. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he looked around at them again.

They all seemed really relieved and glad to see him.

He was glad to see them too.

He didn't know exactly what to say next, though.

* * *

Suddenly Pidge was handing him a tablet, telling him to pick something, anything at all, and Keith was confused.

"Uh - what -" he began to ask again, but then Coran explained the situation. Keith took it better than Shiro thought he might. The Red Paladin just let out a resigned breath and accepted the tablet, beginning to look over the different files. Then his face lit up with interest, and he glanced over at Pidge with something that bordered on surprised respect.

" _Wow_ ," he said. "Pidge - you've got a lot of  _great_  stuff on here -  _wow_  -"

Pidge seemed very pleased by his compliment.

"I know," she said, readjusting her glasses in that satisfied way she had. "It  _is_  pretty awesome."

"-Sci-Fi-Superheroes-Anime-Fantasty-Action/Adventure-hey, you've got  _that_  one!"

Lance and Hunk came and looked over his shoulder, and each made an appreciative noise. "Oh, classic!" Hunk said. Lance nodded emphatically and thumped Pidge's shoulder in a 'well done' sort of manner.

"Can't go wrong with any of these," Lance said. "Hey, Shiro - out of curiosity - for anime - subtitles or dubbed over?"

Shiro grinned. "Well, neither one is _wrong_," he said, "but - subtitles. Every time. At least for me."

"Really?" Hunk asked. "How come?"

Shiro smiled, and it lit up his eyes in a way that Keith rarely saw anymore. "I like hearing it my native language…but there are other reasons, too."

Pidge looked up at Shiro then, eyes gleaming in pleasure. Her hand shot up into the air like she was in class. "Ooh-ooh-may I?" she asked, and he nodded down at her, smiling.

Pidge turned to Hunk then, beaming. "Well - at least for some people - it's mostly personal preference. I  _have_  found that there does end up being a significant difference in the pacing of the story, and even in how the phrasing of the lines is delivered. The story stays the same either way - but I just like the  _feel_  of the subtitled version better. It somehow feels more...complete. And -"

Here she beamed up at Shiro again, who smiled down at her, clearly enjoying how excited she was," - eventually you can pick up some cool phrases, and it's always fun to use those!"

Still looking over Keith's shoulder, Lance made an interested sound as Keith continued to scroll through the shows and movies available.

"Oooh!" he said, pointing to one at the top of the screen. "That one's fun! It has giant robots fighting monsters! And the robot has a  _sword_!"

Keith shot him a quick grin. "But we did that  _last_  week," he said. It took Lance a second to get the joke, but he laughed really hard when he did.

"Nice," he said when he got his breath back. Keith was still smirking as he continued to look through the very many, very wonderful, very  _nerdy_  options.

Pidge had great taste.

* * *

Finally, Keith ended up choosing a show that he'd seen before - back at the Garrison with Shiro. It was a long show - but Keith swore up and down that it was worth the time investment.

"And - if it's okay with everyone - we'll watch it in subtitles," Keith said. No one protested, and he grinned up at Shiro then, and Shiro knew his friend was looking forward to sharing this time together.

"Sounds great, Keith," Shiro said, returning the smile. He looked over at the other three Paladins, who were talking excitedly about getting some snacks and drinks together, and felt glad that they were looking forward to enjoying something so normal together. It was a nice change of pace.

"Come on," Lance said. "Let's go set up the lounge." He headed out of the door, Hunk and Pidge following him, and Shiro made to follow, but Hunk poked his head back through the door and said, beaming,

"Nah, it's cool, man, how about you find out if Coran has some tasty snacks or something lying around the kitchen? We'll have everything set up by the time you guys get the snacks ready, and bam! We'll be in business!"

As the cheerful Yellow Paladin left the room, he felt himself smiling broadly for the first time in weeks.

They were all going to enjoy some nice, nerdy, quality-team-building-exercise time together.

Come to think of it, this would be the first time all five of them had done something like this together. Last time, Shiro had been in a healing pod, and they'd had to fill him in on how Keith had joined in the accapella kitchen song.

As he began helping Lance and Pidge set up the lounge for the first installment of their anime marathan, Hunk sighed happily to himself.

This was going to be fun.


	2. Quality Time

Eventually, they took a break. When Keith returned to the lounge, he found Shiro siting on the back of the couch. None of the others were back yet, and Coran had said something about checking in with Allura.

Since neither of the Alteans were here, Keith was hoping that maybe he could just sit on the couch now instead of lying flat. He hated lying still, even if the show was helping keep his mind off of things.

"Hey," Shiro said.

"Hey," Keith replied. "Do I  _have_  to-"

" _Yes_ ," Shiro answered. "Anyway, the entire point of bed rest is to have you lying down."

He reached down and thumped the head of the couch. "Come on."

Keith grumbled something about over-concerned leaders, but he  _was_  feeling pretty drained, so he came back to the couch and lay down. Shiro looked down into his face.

"How are you feeling?" Shiro asked him. As Keith crossed his arms behind his head, he made an annoyed sound.

"Honestly?" he asked, and when Shiro nodded, Keith huffed out a breath that expressed annoyance - not at Shiro, but at his bed-rest situation.

"Honestly, I feel like an Espada just handed me my ass," he said.

Shiro winced. "Yikes. That bad, huh?"

" _Oh_ yeah."

"Any Espada in particular?"

Keith shrugged. "Not really. Pick any of the ones that hands the hero his ass."

Shiro nodded in understanding. "That's quite a lineup." He reached over and punched Keith's shoulder lightly.

"Seriously, though," Shiro said. "How are you feeling?"

Keith blinked in some confusion. "I just…told you."

Shiro shook his head. "I don't mean physically, Keith," he said.

"Oh," Keith said, "Right."

He paused for a moment, then said, quietly, "I'm okay. Not great...but okay."

He glanced back up at Shiro again before continuing. "I guess…I guess I just hadn't really expected…I hadn't really expected the Council - or…uh…you know - the Council's anti-Galra methods to be so…" he broke off, not knowing which word he was looking for, but Shiro said it for him.

"Extreme?" Shiro asked. Keith nodded, feeling slightly relieved that he hadn't needed to say it. He looked over at Shiro again, and saw that his friend's jaw muscles were clenched.

Oh yeah, Shiro was pissed. But he wasn't pissed at Keith.

He was pissed at the Council.

"It's not that I don't understand how they feel towards the Galra," Keith hastened to add. "I mean - Zarkon and his Druids  _do_  spread like a plague - so it's not like we can expect the universe to just - you know - be okay with a -"

"Keith." Shiro said, and Keith stopped.

Something hard had entered Shiro's eyes - but Keith knew it wasn't aimed at him.

"Don't think - don't think for a  _second_  - that you have to - that you're anything like - " Shiro said, then stopped. He clearly waited and gathered his thoughts before speaking again.

"You are  _nothing_  like the Galra who follow Zarkon. Anyone who doesn't see that within five minutes of meeting you is an idiot. And as for the Council, I think they  _are_  a bunch of bigoted idiots. Idiots who hurt you."

Keith knew that Shiro was keeping control of his anger, but it was still there, boiling underneath the surface. It colored his words, his posture, his eyes.

"After we got back to the Castle - after your healing cycle started - Allura made it abundantly clear to them that we won't stand for it. We should hear back from them today, but whatever they decide to do, it won't change how we operate. We're a team. You're a member of the team. No one messes with the team.  _No one_. End of discussion."

Keith nodded. He'd known Shiro would say something like that, but it helped to hear it all the same.

Shiro continued. "And - whatever happens - I'm going to make sure you're safe. Or as safe as a Paladin of Voltron can be."

Keith felt a grin tug at him mouth. "Nice recovery," he said, but he knew Shiro understood what he was really saying.  _Thanks._

"Well, I had to qualify  _that_  statement," Shiro said. He knew Keith understood what he'd been trying to say.  _I've got your back._

They looked at each other than.

Friendship built on years of trust could sometimes say volumes without any words exchanged at all.

* * *

After a second, Keith allowed a smile to enter into his eyes. "Anyway," he said, a teasing tone coming into his voice, "What's up with this thing between you and Allura?"

He grinned at the expression that suddenly crossed Shiro's face. It was a mix of surprise, slight confusion, and sudden realization that his friend had totally seen what was coming the entire time.

"I mean," Keith continued, still grinning up at Shiro like the Cheshire cat, "it's kinda romantic, her being a Princess, and you being a Paladin and all-"

Shiro grabbed hold of a pillow and threw it at Keith's head. Keith caught it, threw it back, and continued as if nothing had happened. "Hell, it's even  _cuter_  when you realize your name means 'White' - and I mean, come on,  _everyone_  knows 'paladin' and 'knight' can mean the same thing - so technically, you're her 'White Knight', which is just too  _adorable_  - "

With a sudden thwap, another pillow hit Keith in the face, and he broke off, laughing so hard he had to hold his sides. Shiro had gotten up and was now standing at the foot of the couch. The Black Paladin held up another pillow then, one eyebrow raised, a smile spreading across his face.

"Keep talking, Keith," he said. "I've got mobility, ammunition, and time. You're stuck on that couch, and by my count, you've only got two shots left at most."

Keith grinned back at him then, feeling an immense level of satisfaction rising inside him. He held up a hand and pointed towards the door, which Shiro was facing away from.

"Ah," he said, "but I've got reinforcements. Sic 'em, guys."

Shiro turned just in time to be buried beneath the other three Paladins who had crept up behind him. Hunk tackled Shiro's legs, while Lance and Pidge each took an arm. They fell in a pile to the ground in front of the couch Keith lay on, all of them shaking with laughter, on top of all the pillows and blankets they'd used earlier while watching the movie.

Keith leaned over the side of the couch and watched them, cupping his chin in his hands with a satisfied smirk on his face.

"What was that?" he asked Shiro, who was still completely pinned underneath the other three Paladins. Shiro was looking up at him with an expression that blended annoyance and hilarity in equal measure. "I can't - what? Sorry, Shiro, the sound of your utter defeat is drowning out anything you're saying - "

Eventually, Shiro got to his knees, shaking off the other three Paladins, and the laughter died down enough for Shiro to make himself heard.

"I am going," Shiro said, in a very matter-of-fact voice, "to kick your ass on the training deck tomorrow."

Keith grinned at him, and it was one of his rare, full smiles. "Yeah, okay," he said. "But someday I  _will_  beat you."

Then Lance and Hunk were clamoring for Pidge to cue up the next episode, and she was muttering something about a major plot development coming up, so they had all better close attention, and then they had all settled back into their comfortable seats around the room.

Keith leaned over and gently punched Lance's shoulder as the opening credits to the episode started to roll.

"Hey - great idea," he said. "Thanks."

Lance beamed over at him, looking quite pleased. "Hey," he said, "you picked the show. And it's  _awesome_ , by the way - "

But then Pidge was shushing them, telling them that 'one of the best parts was coming up!' and everyone had fallen silent again.

* * *

Coran, passing by in the corridor, peeked in and saw that the Paladins were all enjoying themselves. Keith was lying on the couch, with the best view of the projection screen Pidge had set up. Hunk, Lance, and Pidge all sat on the floor among pillows and cushions, their backs against the couch. They were all eating the snacks Coran had supplied, and they seemed to be throughly enjoying themselves.

Shiro had leaned against the wall by the door, arms crossed over his chest, a smile on his face as he watched the other Paladins enjoying the show. He caught Coran's eye and slipped out of the room for a moment.

"Any word from the Council?" he asked. Coran shook his head. "But I suspect they'll make contact before long. Allura's on the bridge - I was just about to go and relieve her. I thought maybe she could come and join you - would that be all right, do you think?"

Coran saw Shiro smile then. "Yes," he said. "Of course. Do you think she'd enjoy something like this?"

Coran put a hand onto Shiro's shoulder then. "I think she would enjoy almost any Earth entertainment, if you were there to enjoy it with her," he said. He smiled, seeing the Black Paladin realize that Coran knew about him and Allura being - well. More than friends.

"Coran-" Shiro began to say, but the councilor shook his head. "Shiro - you don't have to explain anything to me, I - well, I am just very glad you two get along so well," he said. "You know that I care for both of you very much."

Shiro had to swallow before replying. Something about Coran's sincerity had touched his heart.

"Thanks, Coran," he said. "I - uh - "

Coran grinned then, winking at him. "Say no more," he said, his usual energetic tone returning. "I shall go and summon the fair Princess to your side at once!"

" _Coran_!" Shiro said in a whisper, feeling his ears go red again. He almost laughed at himself then - Black Paladin of Voltron, escaped prisoner - maybe the only one in history - of the Druids, Voltron Team Leader, and he was nervous about admitting he liked Allura?

But Coran had already started off down the hall, humming a tune and twirling his mustache. Shiro sighed, but then he heard Pidge calling his name, saying "Hey! Hey, Shiro - come on, we're about to see someone go full Bankai!" and he went back into the room, coming to sit on a smaller couch, one that was nearest to where Keith was lying. When Allura appeared in the doorway to the room, he waved her over, and the other Paladins waved in greeting as she came to sit on the smaller couch next to Shiro.

She put her lips close to his ear then, whispering, "What's going on?"

Shiro whispered back to her a brief summary of the story. She nodded, looking excited. "Ooh! And this is your native language? It is beautiful!"

Shiro caught Keith looking at them, a huge smile on his face, and felt an equally broad grin cross his face.

"Yeah," he said. "It is."

He was glad Pidge had been able to use her knowledge of the castle's systems to create Altean subtitles for Allura and Coran. That had been very thoughtful.

Then the action on the screen picked up, and Pidge exchanged glances with Keith and Shiro.

"Okay!" she said, raising her hands in excited, but controlled, coordination. "Bankai on three!"

"One!"

Lance and Hunk leaned forward in excitement, and Allura put her head on Shiro's shoulder, smiling happily at his near presence.

"Two!"

The Red Paladin grinned over at his friend again, and Shiro grinned back. It was good to be here, with his team, and Allura.

"Three!"

And it was good to be watching this show together.

" **Bankai**!" they all said together.

**Author's Note:**

> The anime referenced here is 'Bleach'. Hands-down awesome anime. It has an insane amount of episodes, but the characters are a lot of fun, and there are some pretty incredible fight scenes.
> 
> Also, if you caught the reference to 'Pacific Rim', hats off to you. It's the age of the geek, baby. :-)


End file.
